Drottkvaett or That Old Norse Poetry Thin-1
Drottkvaett or That Old Norse Poetry Thin-1
Drottkvaett or That Old Norse Poetry Thin-1
In the sagas of the kings and saints, in the histories of the first settlers of Iceland and the
Western Isles, the reader finds both prose and poetry that tells the story and extols the virtues of the
greatest heroes, men such as St. Olaf, Magnus Haraldsson, Harald Fairhair, Erik the Red, and many
others. These poems are also written to offer political commentary and to give insult to others. They form
a major part of the extant works of literature from the Scandinavian world during the time from 900-1400.
In this poetry there are many forms, defined by the structure of the poetry. These forms were first
defined by Snorri Sturlusson (c. 1179-1241) in the Prose Edda, which was recorded in the Codex Regius,
a 14th century manuscript (see GKS 2367 4to at http://www.am.hi.is:8087/WebView.htm passim for a
facsimile of the Codex Regius). 1 Snorriʼs purpose in writing the sections of the Edda (the Prologue,
Gylfaginning, Skáldskaparmál, and Háttatal) was to record the mythology, poetic forms and dictions of the
preceding centuries. Each section of the Edda is designed as a form of textbook for poets. In the
Gylfaginning (“The Deluding of Gylfi”), Snorri presents a riddle contest of sorts in which the Old Norse
1 There are several different manuscripts which contain versions of Snorriʼs Edda and scholars debate which is the
“least corrupt” version (closest to the original). The general opinion seems to be that GKS 2367 4to is the least
corrupt version. However, if you look at the facsimile (Appendix A), youʼll see that there are gaps in it. Most modern
translators use GKS 2367 4to, and supplement it with the Codex Upsaliensis, the Codex Wormianus, and the Codex
Trajectinus, for gap-filling. See Byock 2005, p. xxxiv; Faulks 1995, xxi-xxiii; and Clover and Lindow 2005, pp. 35-39,
for further discussion.
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mythology from the beginning of the world to Ragnarok is presented. The third section, following the
Prologue and Gylfaginning, is the Skáldskaparmál which presents the “craft of the skalds” by retelling
stories from Old Norse lore and legend as examples. It is in Skáldskaparmál that kennings and heiti
(“name”) or simple re-namings of people, gods, and things are described and listed. The fourth and
concluding section of the Edda is Háttatal (“List of Verses”) which we know that Snorri wrote early in his
career. Háttatl is a series of 102 stanzas that present many different metres that Snorri had identified in
Old Norse-Old Icelandic poetry. Many of these vary only by accents or rhyme schemes that they utilize.2
Among the most common and important verse forms Snorri speaks of is the dróttkvætt (“Court
Metre” probably named after its popularity as a highly formal metre to recited at the Kingʼs court). 3 There
are literally thousands of extant verses of dróttkvætt known to us, ranging from a couple of lines to single
verses to entire poems such as Einarr Skúlasonʼs Geisli (“Light Beam”), a Christian poem written in
There is one aspect of spelling that determines the verse form and
creates the poetical effect, that there are twelve staves [alliterating
sounds] in the the stanza, and three are put in the quarter-stanza.
In each quarter-stanza there two lines. Each line contains six
syllables. In the second line there is put first in the line the stave
which we will call the chief stave (hofuðstafr). This stave determines
the alliteration. But in the first line this stave will appear twice at the
beginning of syllables. We call these stave props (stuðill). If the
chief stave is a consonant, the props must be the same letter as
here:
And if the chief stave is a vowel, the props must also be vowels,
and it is more elegant that each of them should be a different
vowel. 5
2 For Snorriʼs Edda, see Byock 2005 and Faulkes 1995. For Snorriʼs life and an interesting interpretation of his
reasons for writing, see Kevin J. Wanner, Snorri Sturluson and the Edda: The Conversion of Cultural Capital in
Medieval Scandinavia, (University of Toronto Press, 2008),.
3 Gade 1995, p. 3.
4 see Chase 2005 and Clunies Ross 2007, vol. 1, for Geisli.
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Thus, the first “rule” of dróttkvætt: In each couplet (vísufjórðungr), there is alliteration present at
the first or third and fifth syllables of the first poetic line (vísuorð) and at the first syllable of the second
Here there is: iörd . . . furd-. There is one syllable in each position
and each has a different vowel and also initial consonant, but there
are the same letters after the vowel is both words. This rule of
assonance we call skothending [half-rhyme]. But in the even lines
it is thus:
Here there is -rofs . . . ofs-. There is the same vowel and all the
same sounds following it in both words, but the words are
distinguished by their initial letters. This is called adalhendingar [full
rhymes]. The rhymes in dróttkvætt form must be so arranged that
the second rhyme in each line, which is called vidrhending, this
must be on the last syllable but one. But the rhyme which is called
frumhending [first rhyme] appears sometimes at the beginning of
the line - then we call it oddhending; sometimes in the middle of the
line - then we call it hluthending. This is dróttkvætt form. This is the
form most often used for elaborate poetry. This is the foundation for
all verse-forms, just as speech-runes are the principal sort of
runes. 7
Thus, the second “rule” of dróttkvætt: In each couplet, there must be two sets of rhymes, a half
rhyme in the first line and full rhyme in the second line. The second rhyme in each line is on the next-to-
The third “rule” that Snorri implies but does not state is that each stanza must consist of eight
lines, broken into two half-stanzas (helmingar) and each helmingr must consist of two couplets
(vísufjórðungr). Each line consists of six syllables.8 In general, in the stanza, each helmingr, there
should be a single syntactic unit. For example, a simple stanza from Geisli:
6 For definitions of Old Norse poetic terms, see Gade 1995, pp. xvi-xvii.
8 Gade 1995, p. 3.
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1. Upp rann allrar skepnu
2. iðvandr á dag þriðja
3. Krists með krapti hæstum
4. kunnr réttlætis sunnu.
5. Veitk, at mildr frá moldu
6. ,eginfjǫlði reis hǫlða
7. ---- iflaust má þat efla
8. ossa von --- með hǿnum
Iðvandr Kristr, kunnr allrar skepnu, rann upp með hæstum krapti sunnu réttlætis á
þriðja dag. Veitk, at mildr meginfjǫlði reis hǫlða reis frá moldy með hǿnum; iflaust
má þat efla ossa vǿn.
Carefully-acting Christ, known to all creation, rose up with the utmost strength of
the sun of righteousness on the third day. I know that a worthy great assembly of
men rose from the earth with him; beyond doubt that can strengthen our hope. 9
In this stanza, there are actually three syntactic units: 2 main clauses and an interjected
subordinate adverbial clause: iflaust má þat efla ossa von. There is a clear break between the first
helmingr and the second. It is common in Old Norse-Old Icelandic dróttkvætt stanzas for subordinate
clauses and phrases to be interjected into main clauses, often breaking the main clause into two or more
parts. The poet does this to keep his poetry within the “rules”. One example from Útfarardrápa (Drapa
Skalk inna stór verk konungs, þaus vǿru á Spáni; sløngvir Váar dags lét prútt sóttan Sintré.
I must tell of the great deeds of the king, which took place in Spain; the slinger of Vanʼs
<riverʼs> daylight [GOLD> GENEROUS MAN] proudly attacked Sintra.10
The poet here breaks his subordinate clause, sløngvir Váar dags lét prútt sóttan Sintré, into two
parts and interjects them separately, as the rules on alliteration and rhyme require.
This verse also presents us with one of the most basic building blocks that a poet has to use in
writing dróttkvætt, the kenning. As I mentioned before, Snorri talks about the language of poetry in the
Skáldskaparmál. Kennings receive the largest amount of attention from Snorri in this section of his Edda.
Kennings and their use is a very complicated subject that has been studied extensively and can be taught
9Clunies Ross 2007, p. 10. Also, Chase 2005, p. 54. All Old Norse-Old Icelandic full verses quotes in this paper will
be presented in the same format whenever possible: the verse, followed by an Old Norse-Old Icelandic prose oder,
completed with an English translation.
10 Gade 2009, p. 485. Here the kenning sløngvir Váar dags is explained in the English translation.
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in a class of their own. For our purposes here, a definition of the kenning is a noun phrase consisting of a
base-word (noun) and one or more descriptive words (adjectives). A kenning is a metaphorical phrase, in
that it describes a person or thing without naming its subject. For example, in the verse above, sløngvir
Váar dags literally means “slinger of Vanʼs daylight.” Van is a name of a river, and, in typical kenning-
diction, a “riverʼs daylight” is gold, probably because gold nuggets in dark water are obvious because they
gleam like the sun. A “slinger” of thrower of gold is typically a generous man or a king in Old Norse-Old
Icelandic kennings. Thus the kenning, sløngvir Váar dags, stands for a King. Another example of a
Nú hykk segja ýtum kostu sliðrhugaðs jarls; síð léttir mér stríða; brim hrosta Alfǫðr þýtr.
Now I mean to tell men of the excellence of the tough-minded jarl; not soon will my anguish
lighten; the surf of malt [ALE] pf Alfaðir <= Óðinn> [POETRY] roars.11
Here is one of the best known kennings: Odinʼs mead (or ale) equaling poetry. Snorri tells the
tale of Odinʼs theft of the mead from the giants and his flight to Asgard during which he “spills” some onto
The dróttkvætt is the basic verse that Snorri describes; it forms the basis for several types of
poems. The most common of these are the drápa, a long praise-poem with a refrain (stef) and the flokkr,
a long poem without a stef. In the category of drápa is the erfidrápa, an elegiac poem written to honor
the dead. 13 Another significant grouping is lausavísur which are literally “loose verses”; according to
Gade, lauavísur could be used by skalds to make personal comments, attacking their enemies (níðvísur)
or praising the beauty or sexuality of a young woman (mansǫngr).14 Verses of dróttkvætt often appear as
13Gade 2009, p. xli. One of the most famous of the erfidrapur is the Magnússdrápa by Arnórr Þórðarson jarlaskáld,
which appears throughout the Magnús saga in the Morkinskinna.
14 Gade 1995, p. 2.
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interpolations in the sagas, and it is not uncommon for the sagas to be the only evidence we have of
The reason I have made a study of the dróttkvætt is that I have an interest in Old Icelandic
culture. I have attempted to write dróttkvætt both in English and Old Icelandic. What follows are three
examples of the poetry I have written in the past two years. The first is an erfidrápa I wrote in memory of
Duke Morguhn Sheridan, who passed away in September, 2008. In the poem I attempted to catch some
Morguhn drápa jnn Langferðamaðr (Drapa for Morguhn the Lomg-Road Walker)
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In the Morguhn drápa jnn Langferðamaðr, I used only a few kennings and admittedly, I frequently
dropped the internal rhyme requirement to “tell the story.” This helps underscore the difficulties of
transferring the dróttkvætt form which works so well with the more compact, inflected Old Icelandic with
the more sprawling, largely uninflected English language.15 I also used a line in Old Icelandic to close the
stef: Morguhns ǫnd ofar lǫndum, meaning “Morguhnʼs spirit over the land.”
The next is an erfidrápa which I wrote following the passing of Viscountess Rannveigr
akonarsdottir in January, 2010. In this poem, I have used many more kennings than in the Morguhn
drápa jnn Langferðamaðr. I tried to get more of the flavor of an Old Icelandic poem, rather than an SCA-
poem. Thus there is only one SCA-related kenning (Sword trees white girth'd which stands for knights).
All the rest are classical kennings which I found in the word-hoard at the Skaldic Poetry Project. 16 Once
again, I had problems with the internal rhymes and line lengths, but overall, I feel it is a successful poem.
15In an inflected language, such as German and Germanic languages, changes in person, tense, and number are
reflected in the endings of the words or in spelling variants. This helps eliminate prepositions and makes unusual
word orders understandable. In English, this is not possible. For example: the English sentence “Dog bites man” is
completely different is meaning from “Man bites dog”. In Icelandic, however, Dog bites man = hundur bítur mann;
Man bites dog = maður bítur hund. Any way you order the Icelandic sentences, you get the intended meaning. This
flexibililty is the key to writing the dróttkvætt verse.
16 The Skaldic Poetry Project, located at the University of Sydney, Australia, is an international project to edit the
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Hvita-Rannveigr drápa dauðibana (Drapa for White Rannveig Deathʼs bane)
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The final poem is a lausavírsr in Old Icelandic that comes from Fríðrekr drápa inn Frisi (drapa of
Fredrick the Frisian). This drápa is designed to be part of a new project However, as it is only at the
beginning, the less aid about it, the better. The method of writing a verse in Old Icelandic is somewhat
convoluted. I generally start with a rough idea of what I want to say, then research vocabulary on modern
freetranslator.php≫ for this purpose. It seems ideal, as it allows for phrase translation). After this, I look
at putting the words in an order that fits the “rules” for dróttkvætt. I also look for kennings which I can use
to heighten the interest of the poem. In writing for the specific audience of the SCA, I often am put in a
position of inventing kennings that are specific to the Society or the Kingdom. For example, in the
Morguhn drápa jnn Langferðamaðr, I used “leaf-lord” to stand for a Duke; and in Hvita-Rannveig drápa
dauðibana I used “ Sword trees white girth'd” as I mentioned above. In the Fríðrekr drápa inn Frisi, I am
taking an approach that involves transforming some SCA history into a riddarasaga (Knightʼs Tale) or
lygisaga (lying saga or romance). 17 This involves some romanticizing, some fictionalizing and
Gráskegg vissin Fríðrek inn Frisi ræsir fremð siglir haf-skip hlyðir
humra til Austur rumlend. Leiða morgum metendr morðáls til villi-borgar;
ásetta ískaldr öskranfossdœl; reista dísasalr
(Grizzled grey-beard Frederick the Frisian advancer of honor, you sailed the warship from the
lobster-slopes [OCEANS] to the Eastern lands. You lead many testers of the battle eel
[SWORD > WARRIORS] to the wild hills; you settled in the ice-cold valley of the roaring
waterfall; you built a temple there)
In conclusion, understanding the dróttkvætt is essential to reading and understanding the sagas
and other Old Norse-Old Icelandic writing. The dróttkvætt is a versatile poetic form, despite its restrictive
Dróttkvætt - 9
rules of line length, alliteration and internal rhymes. It is a difficult form to write in English; somewhat
easier in Old Icelandic. Yet, for all the difficulty of understanding and reading the dróttkvætt, it is a very
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Appendix A. AM MS GKS 2367 4to
(Source: ≪ http://www.am.hi.is:8087/WebView.htm≫)
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Works Cited
Arnórr jarlaskáld Þórðarson. “Þorfinnsdrápa.” Ed., Diane Whaley. In Gade 2009, pp. 229-260.
Clover, Carole J. and John Lindow, eds. Old Norse-Icelandic Literature. University of Toronto Press,
2005.
Einarr Skúlason. Geisli. Ed., Martin Chase. University of Toronto Press, 2005. (Chase 2005)
Einarr Skúlason. Geisli. Ed., Martin Chase. In Clunies Ross 2007, pp. 5-65.
Gade, Kari Ellen. The Structure of Old Norse Dróttkvætt Poetry. Islandica XLIX. Cornell University
Press, 1995.
Gade, Keri Ellen, Ed. Poetry from the Kingsʼ Sagas 2. Brepols, 2009.
Halldórr skvaldri, “ Útfarardrápa,” Ed., Kari Ellen Gade. In Gade 2009, pp. 482-491.
“Handrit.is”. The Arni Magnusson Institute for Icelandic Studies. ≪http://handrit.is/en/≫. Last accessed:
15 February 2011.
Kalinke, Marianne. “Norse Romance (Riddarasögur)” in Clover and Lindow 2005, pp. 316-363.
Snorri Sturluson. The Prose Edda. Ed., Jesse L. Byock. Penguin Books, 2005. (Byock 2005)
Snorri Sturluson. The Prose Edda. Ed., Anthony Faulkes. Everyman Press, 1995. (Faulks 1995)
Wanner, Kevin J. Snorri Sturluson and the Edda: The Conversion of Cultural Capital in Medieval
Scandinavia. University of Toronto Press: 2008.
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